DeMarcus Cousins Has A Bright Future.

 The Sacramento Kings are tied for last place in the Western Conference at the all-star break and they aren't looking to make any more serious trade moves, since acquiring veteran forward, Rudy Gay. However, the Sacramento have a lot to cheer about in the coming years. Center, DeMarcus Cousins is one of the main reasons this team is a position to compete night after night. He's averaging a career high 22.5 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game, all on a team that is a long shot for making the playoffs.

DeMarcus is in his 4th year in the NBA and is starting to showcase his dominance. 22.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg

  Cousins is showing this season that he's one of the best rising talents in the league, also that he's capable of being one of the more dominant big men which is what the Sacramento organization has been waiting to see from him, as well as the Kings fans. Currently, Cousins is in the top 10 in scoring and rebounds per game. Even though the Kings have loss three of its last five games, Cousins has still been performing at a very high level. In the loss at Boston on Feb.7, Cousins had 31 points, 16 rebounds along with three assists.

  The Sacramento organizations questioned Cousins work ethic over the past two seasons, on and off the court. He was constantly getting in trouble with the organization, as well as the NBA. Last season, he led his team in fouls and was in the top five in the league. I believe that he should have made the all-star game, but I won't question it, they're a lot of guys that were well deserving that also didn't get in.

  At the beginning of the 2013-14 season it's been apparent that the Kings are putting everything into helping Cousins get better as well as the team, first by announcing they have former NBA champion and future hall of famer, Shaquille  O'neal making front office decisions and also helping to mentor the young center. Also, they made a major trade earlier in the season with the Toronto Raptors for Rudy Gay, who has helped draw double teams away from Cousins. Also, the emergence of point guard, Isaiah Thomas has been very big for the organization. Thomas was a former second round draft pick in 2011 and has now found himself playing a big role with the team this season, and so far is one of the candidates for the most improved player.

  I don't believe the Sacramento Kings will make any kind of miracle second half run on the season, I don't think that Cousins will be a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award at the end of this season, nor do I believe that he is the best Center in the league, just yet. However, I believe that after seeing his scoring average jump almost five points in the past year, Cousins will only continue to get better, he's developing a very consistent post game on the offensive side of the ball and he's starting to show that he is capable of making good decisions on the court and off. The Kings signed Cousins to a four year extension at the beginning of the season and now I believe that people are going to see why. In the next two or three seasons I expect to see Sacramento back in the playoffs for the first time since the days of former all-pro, Mike Bibby. Biggest reason for me believing this, DeMarcus Cousins.

On The Clock: Houston Texans

  The 2013-14 NFL season is now completely finished, after the Super Bowl which took place on February 3. It's all out of our system now, well, except Seattle fans of course. Other than them, NFL fans now have to wait a few months before they can start diving into even thinking about next season. But one team that can now start planning into next season as of this week, the Houston Texans.

  With such high expectations going into this season, the Texans managed to win only two game all season. But now, that's over with and a thing of the past, and as the old saying goes "what's done is done". right? However, with the NFL combine just a little over two weeks away, the Texans should start looking over all of there weakest points going into the off-season. It's clear they have a lot of key pieces to build around already, with players such as: (running back) Arian Foster, (Wide Receivers) Andre Johnson and Deandre Hopkins, (linebacker) Brian Cushing, and of course (defensive lineman) J.J "the swat" Watt. These are a couple of good building blocks to have, but there's still one question. Do you build around the offense more or defense?

The Houston Texans over the past four seasons have been known mostly for their defense, that's what's gotten them to the playoffs in previous years. Really it's what helped them to make a name for themselves in the AFC, and NFL for that matter. But we also know that when their offense is doing bad, well, it's pretty bad. Not a shot at Matt Schaub but, seems like he's thrown more to the other team than he did his own this season. In 2013, Matt Schaub had 10 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions before getting benched for second year pro, Case Keenum.

With the combine beginning at the end of February, I think it's a couple of guys that will and should be getting more attention from the Texans. The focus of the Texans in the combine should be going to, (QB) Teddy Bridgewater, (QB) Johnny Manziel, (DE)  Jadaveon Clowney, (LB) Anthony Barr. These are all guys that will have an impact on the field from day one, in my opinion. I believe that these guys can all be great players at the NFL level. I remember they had the same problem in 2006. Everyone thought they were going to take (RB) Reggie Bush, instead they took (DE) Mario Williams and it actually worked out in their favor in the long run. I think that Clowney would benefit them more, they would be pairing him with Watt, and if Clowney performs up to his potential it could be the most dominating defensive line in the NFL. However, if they take either QB, Manziel or Bridgewater, maybe you satisfy your No.1 receiver, Andre Johnson, who seemed to have had a slight issue with the current QB's on the roster. After all, Johnson did walk off the field at the end a game this season, after a sideline altercation with Schaub. I think about this too, they could go for the "reach" and draft the unexpected choice, Anthony Barr. He's a very athletic player, he can play either OLB or MLB, but he can rush the passer, cover on the flats and even would be a good match-up for guys like Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen, Martellus Bennett. With Brian Cushing seeing his season cut short in the past two, drafting a young explosive LB might not be such a bad idea. Another possibility for this Texans team would be to trade back from the No.1 spot. Like I noted before they already have some key pieces to work around, it's no point to use a pick that you could trade a couple of spots back for and possibly acquire more draft picks as well, which would only help add more depth to your team. If they could trade back to around the No.8-14 spot and pick up a third round pick in the deal, that would be like striking gold on draft day. You could still get a highly talented guy from your draft board and then add on to that later in the draft, helping to take care of some position needs and also helps the organization go younger.

  The Houston Texans still have a little over two weeks before the combine and just over two months before the NFL draft. I don't know what they're going to do but, I do know they have a big decision to make. 2013 was a big let down for the fans and i'm sure the players as well. will 2014 be the year that they turn this thing back around? I don't know, but i'm sure ready to find out. They have a new Head Coach in Bill O'Brien from Penn State University. What will his first drafter player be? will he go with one of the guys I mentioned? or will he trade back from the No.1 spot?

Denver Broncos: Super Collapse on the Grand Stage?

  Coming off of an abysmal performance from Super Bowl XLVIII(48), The Denver Broncos are being called everything under the sun. More importantly, the person getting majority of the blame is Peyton Manning. There has been talks of Manning's career/legacy being tarnished due to the beating that the Broncos took from the Seattle Seahawks with a score of 43-8.

 There had been talks the entire two weeks leading up to the big game, mostly focused on two people. One of the people being Manning, the other being Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman. We knew going in to the game that it couldn't end in a tie so, realistically, one of the teams had to lose.

We knew this, right?

I believe that one thing that has people being so hard on Manning, is Manning himself. It's not something that was done purposely, he is an NFL icon, and is coming off of his fifth MVP season (most in NFL history). He has an excellent regular season record through his career, but a beyond mediocre post-season record that he's heavily criticized of. With this being his third Super Bowl appearance and coming up short in the previous one to the New Orleans Saints, Manning was expected to cap off this MVP season with not only another Super Bowl victory but MVP of the game as well. Instead, he and the Broncos get pummeled. The game started off with a Broncos safety, literally the first 12 seconds in to the game, and after that it was no looking back, the Broncos never had the lead and to make matters worse, Manning had only one touchdown compared to his two interceptions, one of the interceptions was taken run back for a touchdown by linebacker, Malcolm Smith (Super Bowl MVP). Manning finished the game 34/49 280 yards passing.

  Like every one else, I think Manning played terrible, well, it was an overall terrible performance by the entire team, minus wide receiver, Demaryius Thomas who had over 100 yards receiving and the Broncos only touchdown. However, I don't think this loss hurts Manning's legacy/career. He has taken two different organizations to the Super Bowl, has five MVP titles, and will more than likely hold the all-time touchdowns and passing yards by the time he hangs up his cleats. But, I know there are the people that are saying statements such as: "He's 11-12 in the playoffs" or my favorite "He went to the Super Bowl three times and only won one of the times, the reason you go is to win". People seem to act as if Peyton Manning was the only player that was preparing for this game and watching film. People are so focused on the "player" and not the team aspect of the sport that they forget that the Broncos also have 11 other guys on the defensive side of the ball that have to do their jobs in order to help the team be successful. People have to just fully accept this outcome for what it is, the Seahawks were the better team, they were more prepared and they showed that throughout the entire game.

  The Broncos were destroyed on the biggest stage of them all, that's why the media is so critical of Manning, right? But, what if it's a close game and Manning throws an interception on the game winning drive or he comes up just short of the victory? Does the criticism go away?..... More than likely not. You'll just hear more of the "he's not clutch in the playoffs" talk.

   Let's be honest, if the Seahawks played either the Patriots or the Chargers it would have been the same outcome. The Seahawks were better than the Broncos, and the Broncos were better than the Patriots and Chargers, it's simple math A>B and B>C so A>B>C. Manning and the Broncos have a lot to celebrate still, it was a great season for the organization, they know what they need to focus on this off-season and they were in a game that 30 other teams wanted to be in. I'm not saying Manning is better than Brady or Montana or even Favre, but I am saying his legacy is in no way tarnished by this loss, and will still go to the Hall of Fame and will finish a top three quarterback when it's all said and done.